asked the Minister for the Environment if the increase in the British banks' minimum lending rate will effect the cost of mortgages in this country.

It is not possible at this stage to state the effect, if any, the increase in the British minimum lending rate will have on mortgage interest rates here.

It is a fair supposition that if these rates increase it will have an adverse impact here. Would the Minister tell the House whether any forward planning is in progress in his Department to alleviate the effects of this and what measures are visualised to counterbalance the likely adverse effects?

It is not possible to assess what will happen.

It may not be possible to assess the exact rise but it appears to be a fact that is on the way up, unless the Minister has private information that it is on the way down.

On two different occasions since the last bank increase it was forecast in this House and outside that the societies' rates would go up by 2 per cent and they have not done so. It was not necessary to have forward planning on that occasion. Surely interest rates are more a matter for the Department of Finance.

Yes, but the Minister would agree that interest rates appear to keep pace with each other and the leader of at least one of our major building societies has referred to a 50/50 chance of an increase very shortly.

Question No. 22.

How long ago was that?

Last week.

One of the heads of one of the building societies also forecast last July that rates would go up by 2 per cent and they have not gone up yet.